Facebook fans lead to big donation

Following up on a successful social media experiment with the
#whyd3 discussion on Twitter, D3sports.com decided to do something
on Facebook. How many Facebook likes could we get for D3football.com
in a 24-hour period? We made one simple announcement on Facebook
and Twitter that we would donate $1 to charity for every new
Facebook fan.

Division III schools were already sharing our message and
retweeting it, to the tune of 200 new fans in 90 minutes. But when
LFG found out and reached out to its network, the campaign took
off.

"Twitter is where I first saw mention of D3football.com's
campaign and already a handful of people had started to retweet and
spread the word," said Alison Wenger, Public Relations Director for
Lauren's First and Goal. "I posted to our Twitter account and
Facebook page to help reach our network of supporters. We also
reached out by email to more than 2,000 coaches and another 2,000
high school players that have attended our camps. The response was
overwhelming and we are so grateful to everyone who made this such
a success."

In the end, both organizations continue to benefit from the
campaign, with D3football.com surging past 5,100 fans and Lauren's
First and Goal adding about 100 fans as well.

"We want to thank D3football.com for choosing Lauren's
First and Goal," Wenger said. "A donation like this will truly
help us continue our mission of supporting pediatric brain tumor
research and pediatric cancer services, and assisting
families in need."

"We couldn't have anticipated such a response," said Pat
Coleman, executive editor of D3sports.com. "We're glad to support
such a worthy cause and glad that so many Division III football
coaches give of their time to support Lauren's First and Goal as
well. It shows how well Division III athletics programs develop
character and leadership skills in student-athletes when they are
led by such generous people."

The foundation was started in 2004 by John and Marianne Loose in
honor of their daughter, Lauren, a 14-year-old pediatric brain
tumor survivor. Since its inception, LFG has raised more than $1
million toward its mission to provide financial support for brain
tumor research and cancer services, to offer financial and
emotional support to families living with pediatric cancer, and to
increase awareness of the disease.

Donations to Lauren's First and Goal can be made online through Paypal or by
mailing a check directly to the foundation at the address
below.